Nice Machinery
by FanfictionForSantana
Summary: Naoto tries to catch up to a gang to ask them a few questions about various occurences, but only captures one member for interrogation. As Naoto tries to retrieve some answers for the police force in Inaba, something else grabs her attention instead. Perhaps it could be what this "machine" encases... (NaotoxAigis)
1. Chapter 1

She was in hot pursuit.

It wasn't often that she was assigned a job like this, but if it meant for the better of Inaba, Naoto Shirogane would never turn down a bit of detective work. After all, she was far better than the police force and it was a surprise that they even asked for her help in the first place. Stuff like this would always get her adrenaline pumping… that and perhaps being around the leader of the Investigation Team. Nobody else ever made her feel nervous or make her face hot, after all.

Until now.

"Stop right there! I'm warning you!"

She cried out verbal commands, but the group of people ceased to stop. She couldn't really make out who they were: a tall man wearing a cape of some sort, a person wearing a large heavy coat ('how do people even WEAR those huge things', she thought), and an ominous figure that made large clanks on the ground with every step. She didn't know who they were, but since they started running when she just wanted a few questions, she deduced that they were of some type of gang and proceeded to go after them.

This work was dangerous too. You never knew who you would run into, and alone as a young girl no less. It was just another reason why she liked impersonating a male because it was less likely that something would happen. Besides, she always worked best when she was alone. Nobody else bothering you, no one asking if the case was over yet, no person asking what anything meant; just her. And that's how she liked it best.

"I didn't want it to come down to this, but since you will not comply…!"

She was relieved she brought that damn thing; it was a net gun. Yeah, a net gun! Yu Narukami actually bought it for her for her birthday. To be honest, it was a bit clunky and sort of heavy, but he insisted that she try the gun on him and it worked amazingly. She was terrified at first for fear of hurting him, and after her shriek of the gun going off and the net strings flying around him, she heard him laughing up a storm. It was a great moment, and one she wouldn't forget. But now wasn't the time to be laughing at old memories; now was business.

She pointed the gun straight in front of her and shot; POW!

Out came the net and captured one of the ones running. Down they went with a grunt and a loud CLANG! It sounded like a metal pipe hitting the ground.

"Keep running! Do not stop, I will catch up later!" A voice came from the fallen being. 'Ah, perhaps a female,' Naoto thought, 'It at least sounded kind of feminine…'

"B-But Aigis…!" another voice cried. That was definitely a feminine cry.

"Just go!"

As Naoto finally caught up with the captured… girl? The other two members fled, much to her chagrin. She sighed in annoyance and looked down at what she had caught. She felt around in her jacket pocket for a mini flashlight and turned it on, shining down below where she stood.

It appeared to be a girl, but also something much more. Naoto was partly confused, "Who are you?"

"I am wondering that about you as well," she replied blankly, in almost a robotic tone.

Something about this intrigued Naoto. It was quite ambiguous for her to tell what exactly she was looking at and the mystery only made her more interested. She kneeled down to get a closer look, "Tell me… what exactly ARE you?"

"I am no human if that is what you are asking."

She was slightly stunned after that; perhaps it was the darkness of the late evening, or maybe it was the hypnotic tone of this robot's voice, but for whatever reason, she had this strange feeling clinging over her. She shook it off for a moment or two and went straight back to business, "I have a few questions to ask you. You'll have to come with me now. You can't escape,"

The girl stood but couldn't run, as she was cloaked in a tight net, "I have no intention of running away. Please take me where you must,"

Naoto cuffed the girl the best she could and held her arm, guiding her back the way from which they came. As she was grasping her arm, she noticed it was cold and metallic… was she really not human like she said she was? Naoto sighed. She was always incredulous to instant information given right on the spot; how could you trust someone's words so easily? It was almost like common sense.

Suddenly, the girl started to glow a calm shade of pale yellow that brightened the immediate area around them. Naoto was quite surprised and even shuddered away a little, always alert to tricks up a criminal's sleeve. This wouldn't be the first time someone tried to out-smart her.

"Do not be alarmed, for I am simply using my own light to guide our way. Your flashlight may be of use to you in the future,"

"… Alright then," Naoto regained her composure with a clearing of her throat and continued taking in the strange girl. Well, that was new. An android that just turned into a giant flashlight. It was a nice gesture for her not to want to waste Naoto's battery, but it only raised even more questions. By now, there was enough light to take a good glance at the girl; tall, blonde, and shiny metal that seemed to cover her body. She definitely looked lifelike so it was easy to mistake her for an actual human being. Something about her seemed… quite different. Perhaps it was the ambiguity or that her eyes were too bright of a shade of blue, or maybe it was because they were alone in the dark on the streets of Inaba.

Naoto gazed at the arm she was grasping; there appeared to be wide cylindrical mechanism on her forearm. Peeking a bit closer, there were numerous buttons and turrets and other fascinating gadgets that were blinking red in the night. She wondered what in the world those buttons did. After all, Naoto was quite a fan of robotics and science fiction, and the possibilities to do research on the girl herself would be quite astounding. She thought about it in her head… Naoto had almost forgotten that she was looking at her for too long until the girl broke the silence.

"I see you are admiring my physical weaponry,"

"!" Naoto was brought back to earth and sheepishly turned away, blushing at the embarrassment, "I must apologize. You have… nice machinery…"

Nice machinery…? What kind of words were those? She just blurted something out to give at least a fair explanation. Was she trying to give a compliment? Was she trying to play it off? Not even she knew. The girl didn't even sound like she was joking or anything; she just sounded blank and frank, as though it weren't an invitation to say anything more. She wanted to fade away and turn invisible.

"Nice… machinery…" the girl trailed off as if she were speaking to herself.

Needless to say, it would still be a bit of time before they reached the detective's office.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for the reviews guys! I really appreciate it!_

"I would ask if you would like anything to drink, but…"

It was the interrogation room, the same one in which Yu was held temporarily while his uncle was questioning him. Gray walls, a sturdy brown table, and two pathetic-looking metal chairs; the room was complete with a mini fridge and a small TV that only gave the local channels. Oh, home sweet home.

Naoto was standing just next to the fridge; it was always a polite gesture to ask those brought into questioning for a beverage. After all, if you wanted someone to tell you something, you had better be nice and offer something in return. It wasn't much, but it was enough to loosen up the person. However, she felt a bit foolish since she was offering drinks to a robot. She knew her mechanics pretty well to know that water and electricity never mix, but in order to stand by her basic detective knowledge, she did so anyway.

"Water will cool my machinery; it will do no harm to me if that is what worries you,"

The robot girl sat in the metal chair at Naoto's request without complaints. She looked blank, as if she were putting on some type of poker face. Naoto was not having any of those "poker face" shenanigans again. However… this scenario was quite different.

'Machinery… I said she had… nice machinery…'

Nice machinery it was, too. First her body became a giant glowstick and now it can withstand water?! Naoto kneeled down and opened the fridge, but her hands were a little shaky. How fascinating! An android that isn't short circuited by water… simply ingenious.

Naoto was always quite intrigued by robots. When she was younger, she used to have those little sets where you could build your own mini robot with just a few scraps of metal and a motor. She loved it to death, and each year she would try to build a bigger one. Of course, that was all years ago, but robots still amazed her.

And here right in front of her was a robot so lifelike that she genuinely believed her to be human at first glance. She wanted to investigate even more… she was just so curious about how everything could work so smoothly…

She grabbed a water pitcher and stood, also grabbing two plastic cups from atop the fridge. From all that running and her scrambling thought processes, she was parched herself. She poured the water and handed the girl her beverage first. The girl seemed less tense after drinking the cool water.

"Now that you're comfortable… shall we start from the beginning?" Naoto tried to forget all about the machinery mumbo jumbo for the moment. This was serious business. She spoke in a forward and concise manner, "State your name for the records, if you do not mind,"

*click*

Naoto always carried a recording device on her, and with a quick motion she swiped it from her jacket pocket and pressed the record button. She rested it on the table in front of the girl.

"Aigis," the girl replied.

"Aigis…? That is your name?"

"That is correct,"

Aigis… what a strange name. It was certainly unique. Though a name out of the blue, Naoto thought it seemed to fit her for some reason. Just her, no one else.

Naoto sipped her water sharply, erasing her curious thoughts, "Now tell me, why were you out on this night? I don't believe that you are aware of our curfew,"

"There was very crucial business for us to attend to,"

"What kind of business were you planning to handle tonight?" Naoto listened carefully. A slight shake in the words or a sense of emotion could make this case a lot easier. Maybe then, she could go home early for a change. She glanced quickly at the digital clock sitting atop the TV set; it read 12:36 AM in bold, neon green.

"That information is to remain confidential,"

Naoto internally grumbled. The girl didn't want to give any ideas of what she was doing… fair enough. The least Naoto could do would be to try and get some information of the other two involved then. Perhaps they'll actually talk because… well… they're actually human.

"What can you say about the two figures running in front of you? It was evident that you knew who they were,"

"They are my team members, as well as my friends,"

"Are one or both of them human, unlike you?"

"Correct. They are both human,"

Well, at least there weren't any more robots running around, Naoto thought. Inaba might not be ready for that kind of invention just yet. They're already starting to trust humans again, after all.

"And what team is this exactly? A sport's team, perhaps?"

"We are called SEES. We…" Aigis appeared to be trailing off, as if she were in thought. She looked like she was struggling slightly with words… was she trying to tell a lie?

Naoto leaned forward on the table and looked at her, attempting to confront her a little better, "What do you do as a team?"

Aigis looked up at Naoto, like she was a bit more surprised to be there. It was the first emotion she expressed all night. "We are, in a way, comparable to that of paranormal investigators," She seemed more comfortable once having put it like that, "We track down beings known as… shadows,"

Shadows…! Naoto was all too familiar with that term, and not fondly. It seemed so long ago that the Investigation Team beat the majority of the shadows a few months ago. Naoto shivered slightly at the thought of what they had to go through…

Naoto stood straight up and adjusted her collar, "I am familiar with these shadows of which you speak,"

Aigis' eyes seemed to light up a bit from the knowledge, "You know of the shadows…?"

"Unfortunately," Naoto sighed. The idea of shadows popping up again in the middle of the night disgusted her, and though it was nothing the Investigation Team couldn't handle, enough was enough of this shadow nonsense. She looked down at Aigis, who still looked surprised, "The two in front of you, your friends… you three must be Persona users, then,"

Naoto was able to put two and two together and realized that if she and the two others pursued the shadows, then they must be able to fight back at them. Aigis looked like she was finally figured out.

Naoto smirked a bit when the realization came to her. It also made her a bit relieved that they weren't just some hooligans running the streets and causing destruction. They were actually doing something to help after all.

"That being said, have you… ?" Naoto was starting off on another question before she felt something against her shoe, as though something were scratching at it. She trailed off her question and looked down. A rat was gnawing at the side of her shoe, and it looked quite angry.

Naoto yelped and jumped back quickly, careful not to step on the creature. However, instead of squeaking, it sounded like it was hissing. It scurried quickly to where she backed up.

She didn't want to kill a living thing, but the poor thing looked like it had rabies and it was leaving the questioning in contingency. She fumbled with the gun in its holster. Just as she released the gun from its protective grasp, there was a bright flash.

*ZAP, CRACK*

The room went white and Naoto closed her eyes tightly from the sudden, painful light. When a moment or two went by, she opened them back up.

On the floor was a dead, smoking rat. Naoto sighed in relief, but still winced. She looked up. Aigis was now standing, and her arm was smoking slightly. Her hand was missing… instead it was a giant barrel, and that was from where the smoke was emanating.

It appeared that Aigis had shot the rat.

"Do not be alarmed. I have killed the rodent for you,"

Her hand slowly replaced the open barrel, changing back into just what it looked like before. Naoto was a bit stunned… her arm turned into a gun too? What was with this girl anyway? Was she specially built to fight shadows? So many questions, so little time. Naoto cleared her throat and stepped forward, avoiding the rat.

"Yes, well… erm, thank you for that. He will need to be properly disposed of quickly if he had some sort of disease," Naoto quickly glanced around the room, but there was nothing of use for the situation at hand. She figured that the police would have protective gear in the lobby, as well as a number of boxes.

"… I shall return in just a minute. Please wait here and… do not touch that rat. We will need to work carefully and quickly to ensure our safety,"

"Understood," Aigis replied without worry.

Naoto rushed out the room to find a pair of gloves and perhaps a bag or a box to encase the rat. Aigis sat back down, unphased by the dead animal just a few feet away from her. She looked down at the hands in her lap, and recalled what had just happened in her memory banks.

"That shriek… I see…" Aigis mumbled to herself, "So she is female as well…"


	3. Chapter 3

"It must have scurried in the room while we were getting settled…"

Naoto had returned to the interrogation room, applying a blue latex glove to her hand before picking up the infected rat by its tail. She covered the majority of her face with the inside of her arm as she attempted to examine it. Its fur appeared as though it was gelled and rugged, and its eyes were a blazing red. It was definitely no ordinary rat, but that was all that could really be said.

Naoto was beginning to think a little more deep about it, "Whatever its goal was, it really wanted to get through to my skin. I wonder why…" She felt a new case coming on as she placed the rat inside a small cardboard box. But this had to wait for another time. She was already on a mission in the first place and though she made good progress, she didn't get all of her questions answered. She placed the box across the room and made her way back to the table at which Aigis sat, discarding the glove along the way.

"You and your friends, the team as you call it, all three of you are persona users,"

"That is… correct," Aigis replied hesitantly.

"I see… perhaps you are doing the same work that my group has been doing. This is what doesn't make sense to me," Naoto paused and slowly walked around the table in thought, "We had beaten all of the shadows in this area, solving these murder cases and defeating said mastermind after mastermind but if I hear you correctly, then you are stating that the shadows have returned?"

"It is not confirmed why or how this is happening. All we know is that we must stop ever-growing shadow numbers,"

Well, that was a bit obvious there. Naoto figured she couldn't get any more information about what the shadows were up to, at least for now, but it was enough for her to someday catch up to the other members of Aigis' team to explain the story a little clearer, as well as to tell the others of the Investigation team. Perhaps with their combined efforts, they could finally beat the shadows but she didn't even know if they wanted to assist in the first place. One step at a time, she supposed. For now, a little personal information about Aigis couldn't hurt.

The tape recorder continued to roll.

"I am going to ask you some questions about yourself, is that alright with you?" Naoto always got a kick out of this question. Most people who were brought into the interrogation room seemed mildly offended about this question in particular and it always gave a little tiny bit of a chuckle out of her every time, as if the person did something wrong and didn't want anyone to know who they were.

"There is not much to know, but I will comply,"

"It is evident that you are some type of robotic machine. When were you created?"

Aigis then briefly explained who created her, why they created her, and how she feels a bit more compassionate than your average robot. She recalled back willingly and seemed to smile at the mention of someone's name… what was it? Minato? Minako? She said it a bit faster than anything else so it was hard for Naoto to make out what she said. Still, Naoto was quite fascinated about her past. It was almost like she was reborn after she was fixed up the numerous times she battled. That was the thing about robots that Naoto kinda liked, you could always fix them. Though durable to the high heavens, they could break but it would be nothing more than a maintenance project. You could always rebuild them and fix the mistakes you made the first time around. Robots could get a second chance, humans couldn't. They could live on forever really, if they wanted to. But this robot… Aigis… she was different from other robots. She felt emotions and feelings that humans felt as well. Naoto wondered if perhaps she was a soul that was built into the robot. Breathtaking. Ingenious. It was just so… so…

"There are not many strangers willing to hear this story," Aigis smiled slightly, as if a little embarrassed but grateful to have someone to talk to in her time of questioning.

Naoto smiled, mostly in agreement but also because Aigis was smiling too, "I take my work very seriously. It is important to understand who exactly I am talking to and to erase the impersonal boundaries. Not everyone is willing to open up, especially to the police force,"

"What of you?"

"Hm… ?"

"What are you like?"

Naoto was a bit surprised at the question, considering no one brought into questioning ever gave HER the questioning!

"There… isn't too much interesting about me, to be honest,"

"There must be something unique about you," Aigis insisted, "You seem like a bright girl,"

"A-A bright… girl?!" Naoto turned away from her. She could tell that easily… she was a girl? Was she not being forward enough? Was her posture incorrect? Did her voice squeak at any point? Shit! Then again, she was dealing with an intelligent robot. She probably analyzed her without her knowing.

Being discovered as a female in the work force, in Naoto's opinion, took most of the respect and authority away. It was an awful fact, but true. She took pride in being noticed as a male because at least she'd have some respect and be taken seriously… though in retrospect, she wouldn't have received any anyway. She looked too young, and no one wants to listen to kids either, let alone females. She sighed in defeat.

"There is no need to be ashamed of your sex, if that is what bothers you,"

The reassurance gave Naoto a little boost of confidence as she turned back around, blushing slightly with embarrassment, "Yes, well… I have my reasons,"

"Please convey to me your reasons,"

Whatever the reason, Aigis seemed quite persistent to know a little more about Naoto and Naoto had to give the girl credit for seeing right through her but still wanting to know about her. It was strange really but she never knew anyone else who wanted to know so much about her… except for the group's leader, Yu. She acknowledged him in her mind and smiled, then began to tell Aigis about herself… how she grew up, why she conveyed herself as a boy, what her interests were, and so on. The deep, professional atmosphere soon calmed down to light, friendly conversation. Aigis still sat on a chair by the table, while Naoto eventually seated herself onto the table. Tension in the room seemed to be lifted and in the interrogation room, and that was all that could be asked for.

"Hobbies… what are those like for you?" Aigis persisted.

"Hobbies, you say?" Naoto thought a bit, "Well… I do enjoy reading quite a lot, mysteries mostly. I like solving puzzles or anything that is of stimulating brain activity," It was like she was at a job interview. She never knew how hard it was talking about oneself until now, "I like building machinery,"

"Nice machinery…" Aigis trailed off, as if in thought.

Nice machinery? What could she mean? Naoto thought for a minute and blushed when it came to her… she had almost forgotten that was one of the first things she mentioned to Aigis. She told her she had nice machinery.

"Tell me then…"

Oh boy… here we go. Naoto adjusted her hat and cleared her throat, expecting the worst.

"What kind of machinery... interests you?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Machinery..?"

It was a marvel, really. Asking people questions would never get under Naoto's skin, even if they were offensive or rude, but this one in particular really took her aback. She usually never took any questions or comments personally, but now it all suddenly seemed different.

Why does this specific question, of all questions, make her cheeks flare up?

… No, she thought, I can handle this. Treat this professionally, just like everything else.

"Well… I have interest in a variety of machinery. I have no singular interest, is what I'm trying to say. If I were not a detective, I would more than likely study in engineering,"

Aigis paused and looked to her hands for just a moment, as if restating the answer in her head. She looked at her palms, focusing on them in deep concentration. She almost looked like she forgot she had hands. After her personal pause, she looked back up towards Naoto's attention.

"Do you enjoy my machinery?"

!

Naoto's eyes went wide; that sure is a way to be blunt.

And who was supposed to be asking the questions here anyway?

"I-I beg your pardon?" voiced out a flustered Naoto. Her relaxed back had straightened up like a tree, and her hands gripped the edge of the table tightly.

Aigis seemed unphased at the repetition of her initial question, "My machinery. Is it to your liking?"

… No, I can't answer this, thought Naoto. This isn't a question that can be answered freely. This is crossing the boundary between officer and civilian. This is… unprofessional. I cannot answer this…

"I-I cannot answer that kind of question, Aigis," Naoto pushed out her answer, rocky at first but ending adamantly. Yes, that will do just fine. Let's go with that.

Something about Aigis' eyes flashed, as though she were not approving of Naoto's response, "If I am correctly remembering the past, I am certain that you had acknowledged my 'nice machinery,'"

"Then…! Why even ask such a question if the answer was already known…?!"

"So your opinion is still valid then, is it not?"

!

It was almost like playing a game of verbal chess, and Naoto was just checkmated. She thought she was a pro at this cat and mouse detective game by now, but she was proven wrong.

There was nothing left. It was obvious by this point. Naoto was wide-eyed and her face was on fire. The back of her neck was warm and the strain on her wrists from gripping was increasing. She lost. No more hiding.

She remembered one of the most significant lessons that was ever taught to her when she was a child, to tell the truth. When in doubt, honesty never hurt in a tight situation.

She took a deep breath.

"I… am quite fascinated by your mechanisms. I like robots and have always wanted to examine them at a deeper level," Naoto cleared her throat, "That being said, I am curious about you. That is all that I can say on the topic,"

Aigis tilted her head, as if a puppy trying to hear its owner better. Once the signal was transferred and processed, she seemed to understand, "Is there something that you would like to know about me?"

"I wouldn't necessarily have my own personal inquiries fulfilled simply by questions and answers. I would only want to see what there is on my own,"

"Do you mean observing how everything works rather than me explaining it to you?"

"Yes,"

Naoto was succinct and quick in her reply. Slowly her nerves regained control and her mind processes went back in equilibrium. She was starting to calm down. Surely, nothing could alter this feeling once again.

Aigis stood up, being just a tad taller than Naoto's sitting body on the table, "You may observe my machinery if that is what you would prefer,"

There it comes again, the rapid heartbeat. The flushed cheeks. The loss of breath.

"W-What? Aigis… No, I-I couldn't look at you in that way—"

"Please, it is not any trouble,"

Aigis seemed quite persistent on the idea. Naoto was almost envious; how was Aigis not feeling uncomfortable at the moment like she was? Oh, perhaps because she's a robot. She wondered briefly if she could feel embarrassed emotions.

"Isn't it… Well… Don't you feel self-conscious about people looking at a deeper part of you?"

Naoto _was _pretty darn curious, but she didn't know how Aigis would feel about it in reality. It may have been one of those ideas that sounded good on paper rather than practice. Looking into her mechanisms… wasn't that the equivalent of looking at somebody naked?

"Self-conscious? I do not understand what you mean, but I can assure you that I do not mind in any way. I have shown my machinery to others that I knew... in the past…" Aigis trailed off almost sadly, as though she remembered something she cared about.

"…"

Naoto didn't really know what to say. She was at a loss for words.

"Please, it is fine. If you are so curious, I invite you to examine me,"

Oh, now we have an ultimatum? Simply stunning. Naoto couldn't believe it. She couldn't, she really shouldn't… It would be so unprofessional to do such a thing under questioning.

"I-I… Well…" Naoto was clearly having an inner conflict, but her curiosity eventually overcame her. She gestured for Aigis to come closer to her and to turn around. Naoto figured she would remain on the table so that she could examine Aigis better. She cursed her short stature for forcing her to do stuff like this.

Aigis complied, standing close enough so that Naoto could properly see what needed to be seen, "There should be a latch over here. No, it's a little lower… yes, right there. It should have a safety on it, but it shouldn't be too hard for you to unlock,"

Though a foreign lock to her, it didn't take long for Naoto to open Aigis' back. Once opened, Naoto couldn't believe her eyes. Gears as far as the eye could see, and wires that would definitely shock a finger if touched. A circuit board was present as well as a few resistors attached to it. She was in awe, but she took it a step forward.

"Could you… Would you try moving your arm upward?"

Without question, Aigis did as she was told. As her arm elevated itself into the air, a number of gears moved to its response, and the wires stretched out. It was really a sight to see. Naoto couldn't be any more excited.

"This is…"

"Hm?"

"This is… amazing. Astounding, really," Naoto couldn't keep her words to herself.

"!"

For the first time since their acquaintance, Aigis sounded genuinely surprised at Naoto's words. It wasn't that anyone hadn't ever told that to her about her machinery; she didn't quite know why she was taken aback in all honesty. Either way, the feeling was there and she couldn't deny it.

"… Thank you,"

Naoto continued to ask Aigis to lift her arms, maybe her legs, and watched what would happen inside. She looked very impressed and was quite satisfied with Aigis' machinery. Suddenly, Naoto felt the urge to ask Aigis…

"Aigis…"

"Hm?"

"How do you… well…" Naoto struggled with how to put it, "You feel emotions, right…?

"To an extent, yes,"

"Where is the mechanism for your emotions…?"

"…"

"They aren't, erm… It isn't present back here, is it?"

"It isn't located in my back,"

With that said, Naoto began to close up the back of Aigis when she started speaking once more.

"My emotional sensor… it is located in my neck. I allowed one person to examine in before, but… they…"

Aigis' voice cracked. Naoto tilted her head behind her in confusion.

"I must apologize. It was a very special moment to me…"

Aigis wasn't sobbing, but artificial tears were forming on the sides of her eyes. Naoto couldn't see the tears from behind, but she had a feeling that the crack in the voice wasn't just a mistake, especially coming from an android. Naoto seemed to be a bit awkward when it came to people crying and being emotionally upset, so she wasn't quite sure of what to do. The least she could do was comfort her, but what could she do? She could have her talk about it? She could give her a hug?

…

Yeah, perhaps a hug could work. Naoto took Aigis from behind and hugged her gently, a soft hug but also enough that the point of comfort was there.

!

Aigis gasped softly at the hug, as though she weren't expecting it. She didn't wiggle away from it… she submitted to the warmth and scent of Naoto that was given to her. She hugged back the arms that were wrapped around her, an action clearly in gratitude.

"You need not to explain yourself, Aigis. Whatever happened in the past was important to you, and I acknowledge that. You do not have to prove or show anything to me about your emotions if you are uncomfortable with it,"

"Naoto… it is nothing like that…"

That was the first time Aigis really said her name seriously. Naoto liked the sound and vibrations it gave coming from her mouth. Her grip on Aigis became slightly tighter.

"I understand what it's like to… lose something from your past. It hurts, but… time never hurts in healing,"

"Naoto…"

Aigis' grip also tightened. She seemed to snuggle into the hands that Naoto had kept around her. For some reason or another, Naoto liked that feeling. She wanted to comfort Aigis, mostly because she could relate, but also it was because… there was something else? She couldn't explain it but there was another feeling that made her want to comfort Aigis. The two girls stayed cuddling before Aigis broke the silence.

"I am fond of your machinery as well, Naoto,"

"Hm…? But I don't believe I have any machinery…"

It took her a moment, but Naoto gasped in realization. Was this…? Could this be…? Was Aigis confessing her feelings? She couldn't be… after all, she was a robot. Could robots even feel emotions like crushes or love or heartbreak?

If that's the case then… wait, what? But… Aigis did know that Naoto was a female so, did that not bother her? Perhaps gender doesn't necessarily matter with androids so the fact that Naoto was a female was ultimately obsolete but… did Aigis think that Naoto's compliment was a confession of love?

Oh no… This can't be. This simply couldn't be true.

"A-Aigis…! What exactly are you trying to—"

"**_Naoto-kun!_**"

Just before Naoto could collect her thoughts and clear up a misunderstanding, one of the fellow police officers doing the night shift barged into the questioning room. She quickly pulled her arms from Aigis' grip, hoping not to be caught being personal with a civilian. Luckily for her, he didn't seem to notice; in fact, he seemed to have a lot more on his mind. He was alarmed with a cold sweat and a pale face. He clenched the sides of the open doorway and staggered his breaths. This can't be good.

"What is it?"

"N-Naoto-kun… You might want to come and see this. The entire town is…! H-Hurry, come quick!"

Aigis and Naoto switched glances at each other and instantly thought the same thing: shadows. Without another word, the two dashed alongside the officer to see what became of Inaba.


	5. Chapter 5

A hiss came from the shortest of the three as she ceased running and turned around.

"I forgot my recorder. Keep going, I'll be right behind you!"

Naoto always had to have her supplies in any situation. She could need it; she wouldn't know when she could need it, but it'd be best to have it anyway just in case. She traversed back through the corridor from where she came to snatch her recorder and catch up to the others.

But that was some wishful thinking.

Instead of seeing her recorder alone on the table, she saw a tall man in the once empty room. A scruffy, middle aged man who was not looking very amused. It was Dojima. In one hand, his usual business: his jacket, which hang over his shoulder … in the other hand, her tape recorder.

"You're forgetting this, I assume?"

Naoto was at first alarmed by his appearance, but she stood straight up and adjusted her collar. It was hard to tell if he was annoyed or not, but she was quick to answer his question, "Yes, I had left it here by accident and-"

"And I thought you were a bit more professional than this," Dojima spit his words at her coldly. Ah, that answers that then. It appears he wasn't pleased. Perhaps it was because of her carelessness, but since she was kind of like his apprentice, he did seem to scold her more often than usual. She was still a novice, and needed to be reminded of it frequently.

She looked puzzled, "I don't understand, Dojima-san,"

"I took the liberty of listening to your entire recording for the sake of the case. Let me remind you that you were assigned to question some gang members, not to make mindless gossip with them,"

He glared at her a moment before he sighed, partly in aggravation and partly in disappointment. Naoto looked troubled and was about to rebuttle his statement when he took the words right out of her mouth.

"Look, I understand that you want to create some kinda 'not-serious' atmosphere 'cause it loosens up them up or something. You've got your ways of doing things and I've got mine, but you can't deviate from the main problem, " He stood in front of her and offered her recorder back, "You of all people should know not to jump into … 'friendly' relationships too quickly,"

She took her recorder back and nodded, "I understand … I won't make that same mistake, but I can assure you that it isn't what it sounds like,"

Dojima sniffed in disgust and drew his attention to the corner of the room, as if ignoring her last words, "Now, about that rat… what is the deal with that? It had rabies or something?"

"Dojima-san, I think you might want to see what's happening outside,"

He sighed and rushed out of the room, Naoto following tightly behind him. Aigis and the officer from before stood in front of the entrance, but dared not to go any further.

The officer shivered, "D-Dojima-san! Naoto-kun! L-Look, outside!"

Out in the streets in the middle of the night, hundreds, possibly thousands of rats roamed aimlessly. The street lamps were the only sources of light, barely illuminating the unruly fur of the animals. The red, piercing eyes was the only hint as to how many rats were actually there. There were waves of them, and the deafening sounds of rampant squeaks filled the air.

"Oh jeez…" Dojima grumbled under his breath. He sounded more irritated than shocked, but his body movements suggested otherwise. He ran a hand through his graying hair and shuffled back and forth. Aigis stood motionless with an alarmed expression on her face. The officer looked as though he had seen a number of ghosts.

Naoto looked outside, as close up to the door without opening it, "Where did all of them come from…?!"

"It's some kind of overblown infestation," Dojima quickly attempted to address the situation, "We need some exterminators to handle the rat populations as well as a clean-up committee to span the entire city. Maybe something's attracting them here,"

Naoto looked at him in disbelief, "This can't be just an infestation, look at them! Don't you think there's something more occurring than just an overpopulation of contaminated rats?"

"Before thinking anything supernatural, we look towards the physical essence of the problem, and you know this," Dojima glanced briefly at Naoto before turning his attention toward the officer, "Contact the nearest exterminators and address the seriousness of the situation,"

The officer jumped, "But Dojima-san, it's already late. Are there even any exterminators awake at this hour?"

"If we could found that out, maybe we can make some better decisions," he glared at the officer and walked towards the phone, quickly pushing buttons. The officer followed him frantically.

Aigis turned to Naoto and looked quite worried, "This cannot be the work of any Shadows, if that is what you are wondering. I would have been able to sense them if they were such beings,"

"It was in the back of my mind, at least," Naoto replied, stepping a little closer to Aigis, "I'm just wondering what in the world this could be … this could be extremely dangerous for anyone out at this hour. After all, aren't your friends out there?"

Aigis froze in place, as if she remembered something important. Apparently, it didn't occur to her that her friends could be out there, possibly in danger. Sure, they were strong enough to defend themselves, but could they stand against thousands of infected rats? Aigis might be able to handle it, but actual humans are more easily weakened by diseases such as rabies. It filled her aching heart with worry.

"We have to do something…," Aigis stated softly.

Naoto sighed, "I agree, but what can we do?"

Aigis paused, contemplating her options, "I must go out and find them,"

Naoto shrugged her shoulders and cracked her fingers, "I can't let you go … You have to at least stay with me until we allow you to leave. We're technically not done questioning you yet,"

"Then come with me,"

Naoto looked surprised at Aigis' proposal, "I-I can't just go with you! I have to stay here, it's my job," she glanced briefly outside, "Besides, perhaps you can survive out there without even a scratch, but if I take one step outside I'll be attacked instantly. You did see how the first rat was after me and not you, right? I won't make it,"

"I'll protect you,"

"How…!" she choked a little and cleared her throat, almost in an attempt to flush away the blush on her face, "How would you even protect me!? You have to protect yourself!"

"Please, just come with me…" she grasped Naoto's hand tightly, "I have to find my friends. I know you would have done the same for your investigation team as well,"

"…" Naoto didn't know what to say. Yeah, she would do the same for her own friends, but she would be going outside in a sea of infected rats for people she didn't even know. Besides, what if she and Aigis did find them? Would Aigis turn on her and leave with her friends? Would they kidnap Naoto? There was so much wrong with the proposal and she could hear Dojima's demanding words scold her over and over again.

However, this could be a big break for her. If Naoto could track down the rest of Aigis' group, she could bring them in peacefully and the case could be solved in no time.

She looked back at the occupied Dojima, who was still making diligent calls. The worried officer was still attempting to help, scrambling beside him. She looked up at Aigis, and then looked down at their hands clasped together. She sighed in defeat and pulled on Aigis' hand, whispering quietly to her, "Follow me,"


	6. Chapter 6

"This is the back door; it'll be safer to exit through here,"

She still wasn't quite sure what she was doing and why, but Naoto was leading Aigis towards the back exit, carefully yet swiftly tiptoeing so as to not draw attention. After all, what kind of lousy detective takes their culprit out for the night, much less with a pack of wild, rabid rats out on the loose? Her stomach began to turn in light of her second thoughts as soon as she reached the back exit door.

"This is the way out?"

The way that Aigis spoke sounded more like a rhetorical question, as if she already knew the answer and was simply speaking out loud. She paused and focused her attention to the door while a few technological noises radiated from her, like she was processing some information.

"I do not seem to sense anything behind this door. It must be an alleyway," she stated this fact, appearing to be very sure of herself, "Shall we go then?"

Naoto hesitated. She tried to deduce the best way to go about this situation; what was the key problem at hand? Aigis' friends (or the gang members, as Naoto thinks of them) are outside amidst the sea of crazy rats. On one hand, this would be a breakthrough for Naoto; capturing all three gang members and coercing them into going to the police station amiably would help the case by 1000%, not to mention that they, with help from the Investigation Team, could defeat those shadows. On the other hand, Aigis could betray her by either making a run for it, or even capturing Naoto. There just had to be another way to go about this... Naoto thought that maybe she could go out by herself and find Aigis' friends all on her own. It wasn't anything new since she's done that kind of thing before. But the damned rats…! She couldn't possibly fend them off on her own. If only Dojima could accompany her…

*snap snap, click click!*

A noise that startled the both of them, the two girls abruptly turned around. It was Dojima, as if on cue within Naoto's thoughts.

"If you're thinkin' about leaving, it'd be best to not get separated," he dangled a key from his finger, "Wouldn't want you to be losin' suspects, you hear?"

She didn't understand what he meant until she picked up her right hand. It was cuffed snugly around her wrist. The other cuff was attached to Aigis' left hand, and it didn't look too loose either. The two were trapped within the boundaries of each other.

Shocked and enraged, she raised her voice, "Dojima-san, you can't possibly—"

"Go out and do what you need to do," he cut off in an instant, "But you're not leaving here with a subject that could just run off, or hell, even fly off. Do you understand?"

She nodded in defeat, not interjecting another word, and he walked back down the corridor to the other officer. She bit her lip and looked down at her hand in reluctance. Cuffed…? It was a little weird to her; she had never been hand cuffed before. She almost felt like SHE was the true culprit here.

Aigis gazed at their hands, staring blankly, "I can see why Dojima-san would not trust me. We must use this to our advantage if we are to find the others,"

Naoto was a bit surprised that Aigis was not personally offended by Dojima's comments and attempted to think positively… well, at least Aigis couldn't leave without taking her along for the ride. Feeling a bit reassured and wanting to find the other gang members, not only for the police station's stake but Aigis' as well, she nodded her head, "Let's go,"

They quickly left through the back door and, with credit to Aigis, it was indeed a very secluded (and tight) alley. They shuffled out as fast as they could and were able to make it to a more opened part of the alley, thankfully avoiding the near breaking of Naoto's arm due to the cuffs. She paused to rub her aching arm and looked out onto the main street; it was completely covered in running, frantic rats, all with frazzled fur and gleaming red eyes that illuminated the roads.

Naoto winced out of annoyance, "Where do you suppose they are going? They're hectic but they're all at least going in one direction,"

"I am not certain, but they do not seem concerned about us at the moment," she leaned forward to get a better look of the main street.

"Ah, that is true! If it were us they wanted to harm, they'd be attacking us right now," she said this and glanced at Aigis for a moment, "Can't you just fly us to where you think your friends are?"

Aigis shook her head, "I do not have the tools with which to fly,"

What a shame. Naoto thought carefully about how to follow the rats' direction. They could not simply run alongside them on the street because there was no room for them to run; they would likely step on a few rats and the last thing that they would want is to anger hundreds of thousands of rats at once. She looked at her surroundings; the alley where they resided was incredibly tiny and nothing seemed of use. The alley across them was a little wider and occupied a dumpster with a number of trash cans beside it. It was hard to see past the dumpster but it looked like an old ladder. Bingo!

"Aigis, we can see where the rats are going from above the rooftops. As long as we can make it up there, we should be able to follow them,"

"I would agree. Let us do that,"

"Okay, jump as far as you can towards that alley over there," Naoto pointed with her right hand, dragging Aigis' left hand with it, "Er, sorry, I have to remember that we're stuck together… Anyway, there's a ladder just behind the trash over there,"

"Understood,"

Naoto readied herself to jump, as did Aigis, "On the count of three… one, two—"

But Aigis had already begun to jump before the third number was called. Quick to her reflexes, Naoto jumped with her, though not nearly as high as she anticipated. The way Aigis leaped, it almost looked like she was competing for the long jump in the Olympics, while Naoto felt like she was simply playing a game of hopscotch. The two girls landed but for Naoto, rather than the ground being hard, it was soft. She looked down and realized that she didn't step on the ground, but one of the rats. It cried out for help underneath her shoe.

"Oh no…" Naoto grimaced and quickly scuffled off of the rat, "Quick, to the ladder!"

Aigis rushed behind the dumpster, practically pulling and dragging Naoto behind her. Although she was no longer standing on it, the rat continued to squeal and soon drew the attention of some of the moving rats.

They approached the ladder but both girls paused. Aigis looked at the ladder and back at Naoto, "How are we to mount the ladder? We cannot climb side by side…"

It was true. Though not even cuffed for ten minutes, Naoto was already about done with the charade. She didn't think about how they could BOTH mount the ladder. But there was hardly enough time to think as the squealing rat bolted towards them, followed by an infestation of angry, rabid rats.

Trying her best not to panic, she quickly thought of an idea, "Just get on the ladder and I'll hang off of your back,"

Aigis glanced back at the incoming rats and nodded to her, "Grab on!"

Naoto grabbed onto Aigis' back, wrapping her right arm and hand over Aigis' shoulder so that Aigis could climb the ladder, and keeping her left arm around Aigis' abdomen. She barely felt secure on her grip when she felt Aigis rapidly start to climb, but it was just enough to escape the barrage of rats. A few of them grabbed onto Naoto's pant legs with their teeth and she desperately shook her leg to fling them off, resulting in a few rats falling down and some even hitting the walls. The rats attempted to jump and climb on top of each other in order to reach them, but it proved fruitless.

They continued to ascend the ladder until they reached the top and carefully dismounted without dislocating any shoulders. They took a moment to relax and catch a breath.

"That was too close. I would be surprised if I hadn't already been bitten," Naoto said this as she leaned down to check her legs, taking Aigis hand down with her. She sighed a relief when no blood or puncture wounds were present. After that, she glanced at the metal cuffs once more, "I am losing my patience with these handcuffs. It isn't necessarily because I am attached to you; it is just that our independence has been greatly hindered,"

Aigis stared at the same area of the cuffs, "It is evident that you have become frustrated with them. I am unaware if I have any tools capable of severing them,"

Naoto grumbled apologetically, "Please disregard my anger. If Dojima-san realizes that I rendered police-grade handcuffs useless, I will probably have to buy a new pair for the station," she paused, hesitating to say anything more, "I also would not want to lose your whereabouts, considering that you are still a suspect in the eyes of the police,"

Aigis remained quiet and still as a statue, looking over the Inaba skyline. Naoto was a little unsure whether or not she was even listening to her by this point. Perhaps calling her a "suspect" to her face was a little offensive? She couldn't tell, but either way she felt a little awkward.

"Aigis, I have an idea that could help the both of us as well as your friends. You said that you and your friends were going to fight shadows tonight, right? Well… Dojima-san knows about the shadows as well. He knows that they exist because our team told him about them,"

Aigis looked back at Naoto. At least she knew she actually had her attention this time.

"You can tell him yourselves that you were out fighting shadows and nothing else. He would understand and he might even let you go with just a warning. But… you have to convince your friends to be taken in by me,"

Aigis looked noticeably conflicted over this news.

"Please, Aigis, you have to trust me. I have had friends taken into the station before," she remembered quite vividly, her friends Yosuke and Yuu… she remembered the anxiety she felt the night that Yuu was taken in for the second time for many reasons… "Just let me take you and your friends in and everything can be easily settled. You'll be free to go and I can even help fight you fight the shadows if you so desire,"

"!" Aigis was alarmed at this claim, "You cannot fight these shadows; I won't allow it!"

Naoto was taken aback by the sudden abruptness, "I have fought them before! I told you the stories of our battles back at the station!"

Aigis shook her head, as if Naoto wasn't getting the point, "This is a battle that we choose to fight against and you should not have to assist any of us because we are a small group. Do you doubt my machinery?"

Hmph… Machinery… Aigis DID have "Nice Machinery", didn't she?

Naoto turned away, partly in frustration and partly to hide the blush from the previous comment she had made in the past… about nice machinery… "I figured that if you helped me with my tasks, then I should also help you with yours," she fiddled with her fingertips, the ones captured by the metal cuff, "Let it be known that I never negotiate with suspects… er, the accused rather, but the matter of shadows is a serious one that should not be dawdled upon in any circumstance, and I believe you when you say that you need to fight them urgently,"

"…"

"I also do not doubt your machinery. I offer my help not because I consider the three of you weak, but because I understand the situation. Back when I was fighting shadows with my team… my friends… we would have welcomed help from anywhere because the more people who help, the greater the chance that we could defeat them. It is more of a support system, really. It isn't because I doubt you," her bottom lip trembled and forced the words to escape her lungs, "You… do have nice machinery,"

Between the two, it was quiet for a time that felt like hours. Naoto's fingertips were fiddling away, her thumb rubbing and scratching against the others in nervousness. As busy as her fingers were, the fiddling stopped and was replaced by another set of fingers. Naoto ceased all functions of movement as Aigis held her hand; the two hands that have been cuffed were now more deeply connected.

"…Thank you, Naoto,"

Naoto was pretty sure that the once crisp, cool air was now replaced with sudden hot flashes. She was wondering just how red her face probably was at the moment, and if the palm that Aigis held firmly was suddenly encased in sweat. Nevertheless, she had to remember that they were both on assignment.

"A-Anyway, perhaps we can better locate the destination of the rats, s-shall we?

Aigis released her hand from Naoto's and walked to the edge of a building, peering down at the trail of rats. She was shocked to see that the last of the hundreds of rats were moving, "They're going this way; follow me,"

That being said, the two girls began to quickly jump from rooftop to rooftop, hoping to find where the trail of rats may lead them.


	7. Chapter 7

They followed the rats from atop each roof, jumping cuffed and hand-in-hand. There were a number of moments where the jumps were too far for small Naoto to leap across, to which Aigis obliged to assist via piggybacks. After some bootleg parkour and keeping a watchful eye on the rats, the two noticed that they all started to congregate in one section of Inaba.

"There they are!" Naoto whispered to Aigis.

"It seems that we have found their destination."

The morbid rats joined at the bank of the river, patiently waiting by the dock. Naoto thought about the bank; perhaps this was the place where Yu would go fishing in his spare time? She would have enjoyed the scenery a bit more – the moonlight reflecting off of the water, the shining stars up above, the sounds of water calmly flowing past – if it weren't covered in rats. She and Aigis stood on the roof of the last house atop the hill just before the river bank, having a clear vantage point of the dock.

Naoto was indeed puzzled, "I never thought rats would want to be near water."

"Rats clean themselves without the use of water, so this is certainly a new custom to me as well," Aigis replied dryly. If she were to have a little more tone in her voice, it would have sounded disappointed; she looked around but didn't find her other comrades amidst the sea of rodents. She looked discouraged.

Naoto was about to say something reassuring before something shot up from under the water, splashing waves of water over the rats and the dock. Whatever it was, it raised its arms calmly but proudly. It was hard to tell exactly what it was, given the morning darkness and dull street lamps, but it looked like a human figure. Its voice, on the other hand, was another story. It was deep… almost too deep for a human…

"My children!"

The rats squealed excitedly at the sight and sound of this being. It was rather unsettling in Naoto's stomach as she gazed in disgust. This was our enemy…? A crazy person summoning a bunch of demon rats? Nothing she hasn't seen before by this point. She wasn't very impressed until she heard a small gasp come from Aigis.

"It's a shadow! My sensors are telling me this!"

"It's a shadow?!" Naoto grumbled, partly in annoyance and partly in worry. There was no telling how powerful it was and it had a legion of rats defending it; but if it was a shadow, they couldn't let it get away. "Whatever it's trying to do, we've got to stop it. It could hurt someone."

Aigis nodded, "Agreed." She took her uncuffed hand, the right one, and pointed her palm towards the shadow. The hand was replaced with a bright spotlight that illuminated the shadow and the rats, who hissed abruptly at the blinding rays.

"Stop right there!" Naoto commanded, "This is the Inaba Police force!"

The shadow was clothed in a long white lab coat and had facial features, but it's 'skin' was more like black fog. Its smile was stretched from ear to ear with a blazing red hue, and its yellow foggy eyes had no pupils. It didn't seem deterred by the light.

"Naoto, my dear! I was expecting you!" the voice called out, almost in excitement.

"!"

Naoto had no knowledge of this being. She was very confused when it called her by name. He looked familiar, but only by what he was wearing. The lab coat rang a bell somewhere in her subconscious… she just couldn't put her finger on it.

"Do you know of this being, Naoto?" Aigis asked in curiosity, but also in suspicion.

"No, I don't have the slightest idea!" she whispered back to her, "His coat looks familiar but that's it!"

"Surely you remember me… I was your research consultant long ago, your lab assistant…"

"… !" And suddenly it came to her. Months ago when she had confronted her shadow, she was in a scientist's laboratory. Was this her shadow reincarnated? No, that couldn't be true… she accepted herself and the shadow transformed into her persona. So then, who was this man? She didn't remember finding other scientists in her dungeon…

"I was your biggest fan… I knew that you were going to become great in the future, so I came to find you and show you my greatest creation. There is nothing I want more than your praise!"

"…" With a quick thought, Naoto decided to play along with him, "What have you presented to me then?

The being looked ecstatic, almost in ecstasy, "Heheheh… I have injected each of these rats with a neuro-inhibitor, meaning that their free reign is now under my control. I have the power to control minds! Years of research that we have done together… and it has finally become a reality!"

Years…? Naoto pondered this thought. She hasn't known the being any longer than this moment. Perhaps he was referring to her shadow, the bottled-up and agitated persona… By this point it could have been anything, but the bottom line was that it was a complete misunderstanding. This was sure to not end well.

Aigis took more of a battle stance as the being's voice grew louder, whispering, "This man is dangerous."

"There's no denying that. He must have escaped from my dungeon at some point… this is my fault,"

"Dungeon?" Aigis was perplexed, "You own your own prison?"

"No, not that type of dungeon! I told you about it at the station, remember?"

Their whispers to each other were driving the scientist impatient as he growled through his teeth, "Are you not impressed?! Has my research failed to entice you…?!"

He raised his fists as the rats came underneath him and crawled over his body… they had to be completely engulfing him. His body became covered in rats, and that body grew larger and larger with the continuing accompaniment of rodents. It grew and grew, becoming taller than the house where Naoto and Aigis stood. The being morphed disturbingly as the rats absorbed into each other, giving the creature a sticky, slimy texture. There was no longer hair, no longer tails, and no longer rats… the only thing that remained of them were their red beady eyes, which covered the entire body of the being. They glowed menacingly. The creature's mouth hung open, showing a generous arrangement of teeth in various shapes and sizes only on the bottom jaw. Its appendages stretched out from its body, which looked like three "arms" and "hands." It released a huge roar, a sound so horrendous that could have best been described as the last sounds of the dying rats that made up the creature.

The two were speechless. Naoto tried desperately to assess the situation, "… how are we going to beat this?! We can't do this on our own!"

The being's voice was anything but human by this point, but its ecstatic demeanor quickly turned to demanding. "If I can't earn your respect, then I will force you to respect me!" One of its appendages readied to swipe them off of the building.

"Palladion!"

In a flash, upon her request, Aigis' persona emerged. She defended the two from the enemy's arm with her massive shield. She struggled with the weight of the monster, but saved the two from being violently thrown in the air.

"Quick, this way!" Aigis pulled Naoto's hand and guided their escape. The creature was not pleased by this, releasing his weight from Palladion, who thus disappeared into thin air.

The two climbed down from the roof and hid in the alley as the creature growled. It trampled around the immediate area, searching diligently for the bodies. They briefly had a moment to catch their breath.

"Naoto… what are we going to do? What does he want with you?"

"I don't know; my only assumption is that he's confused me for my shadow and he wants some sort of recognition for his work," she looked out of the alley just to peak at the monster, who was ripping trees to shreds in frustration. "… perhaps more than just recognition, but this is only a theory. Nonetheless, he is a shadow and we must destroy him."

Aigis nodded, "Agreed. This might have been one of the shadows that we were trying to find." Suddenly a realization came to her, "If this is the shadow we needed to beat, then maybe my friends will be here too."

"You think so?" Naoto picked up her right hand… still cuffed, still held tightly in Aigis' worried grasp, "We're still incapacitated here so we can't do much, but maybe we keep it from going on a rampage into the town."

"We can do it if we work together," Aigis said with a determined face, "You can trust me, I won't allow injury on your part."

Naoto chuckled, quick and softly, "Likewise. I trust you, Aigis. Come on, let's face him,"

"Right."

And the two emerged stoically from the dark alley.


	8. Chapter 8

"You pompous, arrogant girl! How can you not be amazed at my success?!"

The monstrous atrocity stomped around in an agitated manner, or perhaps stomped was not the best word since it did not necessarily have feet… Regardless, it was not a happy creature and it wanted all of Japan to know this.

Naoto and Aigis came from the dark alley and faced the monster as its back was turned, standing right in the middle of the street. Only the street lights that shone a depressed yellow hue recognized them. Naoto trembled slightly as the adrenaline pumped through her veins at an alarming rate. "Let's lure him towards the fields," she whispered to Aigis, who needed no further command. They alone may not be able to defeat him, but they could at least keep him away from innocent bystanders. She swallowed the nervousness and raised her voice.

"Hey, over here!"

Immediately the giant, dark blob turned its "head" and glanced at the two. It growled in an annoyed manner before charging at them; pretty fast too for not having feet!

The two jumped backwards, just out of the way of one of its slimy, grabby arms. As Naoto paused to land on her feet, she felt a huge pull on her right hand that almost undoubtedly could have caused whiplash. It was the pull of the metal cuff by Aigis, who was still carefully dodging swipe after swipe. Thanks to her they were still out of the creature's grasp, but now Naoto was disoriented at where to step and land, if they were landing at all. Aigis' feet were like lightning and Naoto was worried that she couldn't keep up; it's hard to keep up with robot after all. After letting her lead and becoming familiar with her stepping, it was a tad easier to predict her moves. That wasn't saying much though; one slip could be all it takes for the metal to practically slice her wrist. At least by that point they would no longer be bound by the cuffs.

"Naoto, this way!"

Aigis lead the way as Naoto caught up to her side. The monster was following close behind, spitting indescribable splotches of slime in front of the two in the hopes that he would catch them. They leaned left, hopped and leaned right, and had a few close calls here and there.

"Stop running away from me! Is this how you treat your long-time colleague?!"

Naoto was inhaling and exhaling at speeds even she didn't know was possible. She could almost feel her lungs trying to leave her body through her mouth. After running for a few minutes, the fields were in sight. They weren't there yet, but at least they had lured it away from the residential houses. "Aigis, we're far away now! Can you shoot him with your laser arm now?"

Aigis sounded reluctant, "We may be far from the town, but if I turn to shoot him he will surely grab us. He is too close,"

He was right on their tails. Turning and shooting wouldn't have been worth it. Even if she tried to fire shots while running, it would likely miss. They would need a place to stop if they wanted to get a shot in edgewise. Just as Naoto was contemplating other ideas, another voice could be heard from a side of the field.

"Aigis! Is that you? Keep running, we're coming!"

It sounded a little familiar to Naoto, but not by much. By the sound of the gasps from Aigis, Naoto assumed that it was one of her friends that were tracking the shadow. What timing!

Just then, a shadowy figure was spotted running towards the girls and the creature. Whoever it was, they were coming pretty fast! Perhaps it was one of the spit blobs that the monster spewed and came to life? Without street lamps, it could have been anything. The girls came to a stop and braced for impact, but the figure jumped above them and attacked the creature, which gave off a hurt shriek.

"Prepared to be destroyed, shadow!"

Naoto looked up and attempted to make out who it was, but couldn't decipher the dark figure. Aigis, however, knew exactly who it was. "Mitsuru! Be careful, he is dangerous!"

Naoto placed her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath before starting another run, "Aigis… now… use the… laser now…"

The monster was distracted enough by the girl named Mitsuru for Aigis to prepare her cannon. Her arm extended and sounded like it was locking in place. She aimed it at the faceless head, charged her shot, and let it go. The fields illuminated for just a brief moment as the target screamed at the impact of the shot. For that brief moment of darkness to brightness and back to darkness again, everyone was practically blinded. After the dust settled, all that was left was a gaping hole in the center of the head, slime oozing from the top of the opening towards the bottom. The monster seemed angrier rather than hurt, and roared loudly into the night.

"I-It didn't do anything…" Naoto exhaled in disbelief, "It doesn't look weakened at all!" She was more perplexed by this point; if that didn't hurt him, then what the hell will? As it roared, it spit an array of slimy blobs all over the field.

Aigis tugged at her wrist despite the short girl's tired body. Naoto looked like she was about to faint at the sudden jolt of forced exercise. "Naoto, are you alright—" Just as she asked the question, Aigis tripped into one of the dark spit blobs with a light shriek. Naoto had thought the blobs were acidic, but thankfully it didn't seem to erode anything off of her; it just looked terribly sticky.

"Aigis!" Naoto exclaimed, "Hang in there, I'll get you out!" She pulled at Aigis' hand, though it felt a lot harder than it looked. It was practically jello if it was concrete flavored. Aigis struggled in the blob, but it looked like the more she struggled, the more demanding became the stickiness. What was this, quicksand?

"Hey, you can't be leaving me out in all of this!"

As Mitsuru kept striking the blob, another figure emerged from the shadows, who sounded quite energetic for the occasion. It was a little easier to see this person since their clothes were a brighter color, but the after-effect of the bright flashes versus darkness was altering Naoto's eyes. She rubbed them aggressively to get the glowing effect out of them.

"It's about time," Mitsuru called out, "Stall the shadow for a moment."

While the hooded figure called for the attention of the shadow (to which it angrily obliged), Mitsuru ran towards the two girls, but paused for a moment to address the situation. "Aigis! Are you alright? … Wait, why are you cuffed?"

"It's a long story," Naoto attempted to explain, "We don't have time. We have to get her out of this sludge,"

With the assistance of Mitsuru, she and Naoto pulled on Aigis' hand to try and release her from the gelatinous imprisonment, but it was fruitless.

Mitsuru sighed in weakness, "This isn't working … I have another idea that might work. Aigis, look away for a moment."

"Be urgent!" Aigis addressed.

Mitsuru concentrated briefly and pulled out her revolver. Naoto seemed quite concerned at this action and was about to interject, but Mitsuru aimed it at her own head and called out to her persona: "Penthesilea!"

Once the gun was shot, a bright persona appeared before them and cast an ice attack on the sludge that encased Aigis. It froze the mass and in a flash, shattered the pieces. Thankfully Aigis remained unharmed. She stood and brushed herself off.

"Thank you, Mitsuru!"

"Thank me later, Aigis," Mitsuru ordered, "We have to defeat this shadow first. Un-cuff yourself at once from this individual before they become harmed." She nodded towards Naoto.

"She is a persona user as well," Aigis defended, "She can help us beat the shadow." Naoto nodded in affirmation, without adding to Aigis' words.

"Is that so?" Mitsuru responded, "Well, we –"

"Hey! How about a little help over here!" a voice called from the distance.

Mitsuru gasped and turned to Aigis, "I have to help Akihiko; in the meantime, come up with a plan!" And off she ran in the direction of the voice.

The monster was not pleased with this type of attention and roared into the night, "Naoto!" At the call of her name, she grimaced in disgust. This predicament wasn't getting any better.

"Naoto, do you have any ideas?" Aigis questioned.

Not particularly. What could they do? Fight with their weapons? Fight with their personas? Personas! Yes, this could indeed work much better since Aigis' gun didn't work too well. This would have been so much easier if only they weren't connected…

Wait a minute… connection… that's it!

"Aigis, we should call out our Personas! At the same time! It'll provide a bigger attack if we work as partners with our personas!"

Aigis nodded, "I will wait for your command,"

"Alright, follow my lead!"

The monster cackled in anger, swiping at the air where Mitsuru and the hooded figure ran. It was growing impatient, but also weak due to its expense in energy.

"Hey, you! Shadow!" Naoto yelled towards the being, "Here I am! I'm right here where you want me!"

The creature stopped instantly, and turned towards Naoto's voice. It squirmed slowly towards her, "Is it really true, Naoto? All of these wasted years that you spent with me… and you never reciprocated any of it?!"

Naoto swallowed, nervous and shaking but still standing up to face the creature. In an attempt to comfort her, Aigis gripped her hand, squeezing it tightly. Naoto gasped and glanced at her for a second; Aigis stood staring at the monster, adamantly without fear. Naoto nodded and turned her attention back to the monster, squeezing Aigis' hand tightly with added confidence.

"To pursue your life for someone else while neglecting your own is childish. You invented a breakthrough of science not for the benefit of society and life as we know it, but in order to grasp my love." Naoto looked directly into the creature's eyes (all 1000 of them), "You… have done quite the opposite. How ironic,"

Naoto lifted up her arm up, her palm opened toward the monster. Aigis reflected her actions, as if she were her mirrored counterpart.

The creature growled and pounded its appendages to the ground, "I wanted your attention! I wanted your love! I wanted you! I was trying to impress you all this time!"

Naoto scowled at the monster, "You didn't."

In an instant, Naoto called out her persona at the same time that Aigis called hers:

"Sukuna-Hikona!"

"Palladion!"

A glow formed around the girls, almost like a blue tornado that ruffled their clothes and hair. Behind them was the figure of a Persona that was definitely neither Sukuna-Hikona nor Palladion; in fact, it was quite larger in comparison. It looked like a colorfully masked goddess with black armored skin and tremendous gray wings, armed with a long spear and large shield. It appeared to be a solid statue until the eyes of the mask glowed bright blue in one eye and bright yellow in the other. It was perfectly still until it suddenly lunged forward and pierced the creature. It remained there as the creature paused in shock, gargling whatever fluid was draining from its body. It squirmed for just a moment before it squealed loudly in pain, exploding into an indescribable number of sludge projectiles; they each disintegrated into dust before they had a chance to reach the ground. Once the job was finished, the Persona quickly regained its initial position and faded away with a flash of light.

Mitsuru and the hooded figure froze in space, catching their breaths and staring into Aigis' and Naoto's general direction. Naoto gasped after all was said and done, bringing down her arm and looking at her palm in disbelief. She turned toward Aigis, who looked back at her blankly. The two were at a loss for words.


	9. Chapter 9

"Yeah! We did it! We beat the shadow!"

The hooded figure raised his fists into the air and cheered, celebrating their latest victory with the shadow they've been searching for this whole time. Mitsuru sighed, but gave a subtle smile and nodded in agreement. Aigis kept the blank expression on her face while Naoto continued to stare at her hand.

"That was… amazing," Naoto sighed in fascination, "What happened…? What was that Persona?"

"I was not aware of such a persona myself," Aigis gave as a rebuttal.

Mitsuru and the man rushed towards the two and asked if they were unharmed. A more presentable introduction among Naoto, Mitsuru, and the man Akihiko were given and the course of the last few hours was explained briefly. Once everything was established and conversed over, the topic of the mysterious persona came back.

"Listen carefully… that Persona was new, but I think there's an explanation for it," Mitsuru explained, "The Kirijo group has been studying this kind of power for only a short time until it was discontinued due to other projects. We called this ability a union,"

"A union?" Naoto inquired, "A union would entail a bond between two or more things… so do you mean to say that a union would be a mixture of two Personas?"

"It is best described as such. Supposedly, two persona-users would be able to connect their Personas together in order for a more profound attack. Unfortunately, little is known about such an ability that it could either be deemed efficient or unstable,"

"It sure looked like it was pretty stable," Akihiko added.

"Intriguing, to say the least," Naoto agreed, "Certainly this would provide an excellent battle tactic."

"Indeed," Aigis commented.

"Is there not going to be anymore continued studies of these unions?" Naoto encouraged.

"Well," Mitsuru paused, "I suppose now there will be, considering the impact it left on the Shadow. It could be helpful in future battles."

As the group spoke, the sun began to rise up over the creek. Goodness, were they really out that late? Naoto was beginning to feel sleepy herself as they all walked back to the Police station. Dojima noticed the group as he was standing outside (Naoto assumed he was getting fresh air, or perhaps leaving the annoyance of the other cops once and for all). He smirked as they walked down the street.

"Dojima-san," Naoto began, "Here is the group that you wanted to see. I can assure you that they are not gang members out to harm anyone,"

He chuckled low in the back of his throat. "I'll be the judge of that, rookie. But I have to admit, you got the job done at least. Good work."

"Of course. Perhaps since my end of the deal has been settled, yours could be fulfilled as well?" Naoto lifted up her right hand, which was still connected to Aigis' left hand.

"Oh jeez, I figured by now that you would have found a way to escape those things," Dojima admitted foolishly, "Can't base things off of assumptions I guess. Give your hands here,"

He retrieved the key from his pocket and freed the two girls from the cuffs. Aigis' hand did not show much wear, but Naoto's hand was cut quite generously. Dojima grimaced at the site of her wrist, which was seconds away from bleeding. "Might wanna treat that before it gets worse. The first-aid's in the drawer, you know where it is. I'll question these three in the meantime." He pointed to Aigis, Mitsuru, and Akihiko.

"Actually, Dojima-san, I've already questioned Aigis," Naoto assured, "That won't be necessary,"

Dojima scoffed at her, "I see. Well then why don't you go treat our Naoto's wounds?" He addressed to Aigis, "We can't have her interning with us if she's injured,"

"Understood," Aigis replied dryly, "Come, I will take you for treatment," She took Naoto by the arm and pulled her through the doors of the police station. Naoto hardly had time to argue as she was dragged through the doors, so she only complied. For a moment, she felt the roles being reversed.

While Dojima escorted the other two away and was thoroughly questioning them in a separate room, Aigis began to treat Naoto's wounds with rubbing alcohol, antibiotic ointment, and a generous amount of bandages. Almost too generous.

"Aigis, don't you think that's enough?" Naoto asked.

"Nonsense. From what I have researched, bandages keep the wounds from being exposed to the air," Aigis replied.

"Only until the skin can cover itself … but that appears to be too much. Though I do appreciate your concern for my well-being,"

Aigis looked down at the cuts on Naoto's wrist. She looked unhappy. "This must be due to my pulling on you. I should have known that human skin is much more sensitive than that which is synthetic."

"I-It's not your fault, Aigis, "Naoto persisted, "If it weren't for you, we would have been beaten, or at least in a much worse predicament. Remember that there was a good outcome behind this."

Aigis sighed, "I suppose. I have just recently learned that being human is much different than being what I am. Humans are much more perishable."

"That is true... All of us have our thresholds and there are circumstances that we can and can't avoid. All we can do is be prepared for them,"

Aigis looked at Naoto with greater wisdom, as if she gained more knowledge about life. She gave a subtle smile, "You have shown me many things for only knowing me for 6.43 hours. Thank you, Naoto-san."

"I-I don't think that title is relevant for me. Perhaps Naoto-kun would be more appropriate."

"Indeed, Naoto-kun," she replied. She continued to wrap the bandage around Naoto's wrist until it was securely in place. She then kissed it.

"?" Naoto glanced at Aigis in confusion, blushing slightly from the contact, "What was that for?"

"Is this not a way to provide certainty of a full recovery?" Aigis stated in a dry tone.

Naoto sighed and chucked softly, "No, you're correct. It's just… I haven't had that done to me since I was only a child. Thank you, Aigis." Naoto stared at her bandaged wrist and smirked disappointedly, "It's quite a shame that we're no longer bound together. It actually feels weird to have my hand back."

"I have always been bound to someone," Aigis stated, "Only recently have I begun to find my own identity. Like you said previously, one should not be bound by someone else for all eternity. It is important to be your own person,"

"You're very right about that…" Naoto nodded in agreement and smiled.

Dojima exited the questioning room with Mitsuru and Akihiko and looked as though he had been trying to solve the DaVinci code; he couldn't have looked more perplexed. "I'm gonna have to get used to this whole "persona" thing that you kids keep talking about…"

"What's the verdict, Dojima-san?" Naoto inquired.

"Everything's cleared up, for now that is. As long as we don't catch any of you three vandalizing the town and causing a ruckus, things are taken care of."

"Our job is done, Aigis. We should head home while the train is active," Mitsuru encouraged.

"Yeah, I'm already sore," Akihiko added, "We could all use the rest."

"I see…" Aigis replied. She did not seem eager to leave.

"It seems Aigis has bonded with you, Naoto," Mitsuru said confidently.

"Don't feel so bad, Aigis," Akihiko mentioned, "You can always come back to visit if you wanted to. It isn't like we live too far away."

Naoto looked at the disappointed Aigis, guilty that she was the one to make Aigis feel such an emotion. "Cheer up, Aigis. Akihiko is right, I'll still be here and you can visit whenever you like."

Aigis looked up and nodded, reassured from her friends' words. "I will not forget our time shared, Naoto-kun."

With that said, she stood and awaited for commands from Mitsuru, who gazed fondly at Naoto. "Thank you for your help, Naoto-kun, Dojima-san." She nodded towards them and left for the door, with Aigis and Akihiko following.

Naoto watched, but sighed when they walked out of view. Dojima noticed the small cadet and patted her shoulder, "You earned a break. Go get some rest, we'll call you if something new comes up."

Though reluctant to go home from work, she had been painfully exhausted and rest was too big of a temptation to pass up. She dragged herself down the streets, around the corner and up the hill just to walk through her front door, trudged up the stairs, and plopped onto her bed. Not even the rising sun could persuade Naoto to stay awake.


End file.
